NBA picks

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New Jersey Nets at Cleveland Cavilers: Wednesday 7:00 p.m.

The hottest team in the Eastern Conference has to be the New Jersey Nets. With its new coach, Lawrence Frank, the team has been playing outstanding basketball lately.

Before the firing of the Byron Scott, the Nets were having a sub-par season.

Before the start of the season most people thought the team would roll through the Eastern Conference, but that hasn’t been the case.

As the Nets’ record indicates, they were barely playing .500 basketball.

Jason Kidd has found his rhythm and so has Kenyon Martin.

Maybe the firing is just what the Nets needed to get motivated. No disrespect to Byron Scott, but he was kind of a laid-back coach. Frank’s coaching style seems to be very aggressive and more intense. He wants his players to play hard and give it their all.

Who would have thought Lebron James would be this good? Not too many people thought his play would be this outstanding.

James should have been elected to the All-Star game this weekend. The former high school phenomenon is averaging 20.8 points a game this season.

The most improved player on this surprising Cavaliers team is Carlos Boozer. He went from averaging in the single digits last year to averaging 14.8 points per game this season.

If the playoffs started today, the Cavaliers and the Nets would both be included.

This should be a very exciting game. Both teams have been playing good basketball lately.

I think this game will be close, and look for James and Boozer to have over 20 points.

I think the Nets’ starting five will be too much for the Cavs to handle.

Prediction: Nets 95Cavaliers 87

Sacramento Kings at Detroit Pistons: Wednesday 7:30 p.m.

The Sacramento Kings have the best record in the NBA, at 34-13. This team is the highest- scoring team in the league, averaging 104.7 points a game.

One of the main reasons why this team is the best in the league has been the play of Predraq Stojakavic.

Stojakavic has been averaging 25.1 points per game this season and has been elected to play in the NBA All-Star game this weekend.

It’s hard to imagine this team playing so well without their leading scorer for the past three years, Chris Webber. Webber’s return to play is still questionable. He hasn’t played a game all year due to an off-season ankle injury.

This team is loaded with one of the best backcourts. Point guards Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson have both improved their play and scoring.

The Detroit Pistons have one of the league’s best defenses, and are holding their opponents to 86.2 points a game.

Ben Wallace has been a big reason for his team’s stingy defense. He is averaging almost 10 rebounds per game and 4 block shots per game.

The Pistons’ backcourt play has been very productive this year. Chauncy Billups and Richard Hamilton both average almost 18 points a game.

This will be a very intriguing game. The Pistons have shown that they can hang with a high scoring team. I think the Pistons will be fired up at home for this one.

They will play the Kings tough, but I just think the Kings have too many weapons for them to cover.

Look for 3-point shooting contest between these two teams. Both can shoot the long ball very good.

I think Predraq will be the deciding factor in this one. Prediction:Kings 107 Pistons 102